Twisted Fate
by Ripplingstorm
Summary: The world was a cruel and merciless place. Fate, or the gods, was unforgiving as it was unfair, for it had taken away everything that Zeref had ever loved. Everything. Features kid Zeref and Natsu. Warning: some descriptions of bloody death.
**Author's Note:** I originally began writing this for Dragneel Brother's Week on Tumblr way back in September, but never did finish writing. The first bit was written months ago, and the rest of it last month, so there's a slight difference in style, I think. I wrote the rest and decided to put in the AU story that I'm currently on. But now that I think about it, it's more appropriate to say that this fits better with the current story the AU.

Anyways, I think there may be some spoilers for strictly anime watchers, so read at your own discretion. :)

This will be a two shot.

The setting is Mildea, 400+ years prior to current point in the manga/anime.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own anything recognizable as belonging to Fairy Tail. Other than the writing, I don't think I can claim anything as mine... Well actually, I suppose the idea of Kaos aka Acnologia being related to the Dragneel brothers as their uncle counts as my idea. And I can say that Sylvia Dragneel, the mama, is my character too.

* * *

Part One: Terror

 _Natsu woke to a faint voice calling his name. He didn't recognize the voice, but as the fog hanging over his mind cleared, he sat up, bright green eyes wide with excitement. The first thing he saw was green. The grass of the field he lay in was green, as were the trees, the leaves, the flowers, the water, the sky – no, that was blue. White fluffy clouds drifted lazily across the sky, moving at a languid pace. Gentle trickling of water added to sounds of chirping birds, rustling leaves and the whistle of warm spring wind. Sunlight poured, falling on everything it could reach. Natsu, who had been lying under a tree earlier, now sat in soft, waving grass, fully within the reach of the sun's warm rays. He could see the whole hill from where he sat, at the top._

 _It was nice. Though, Natsu didn't remember how he had gotten here…_

" _Natsu!" There was the voice again! "Natsu! Are you here? Mother wishes for us to return for dinner!"_

 _Natsu's eyes sparkled with happiness as he saw a dark haired boy running up the hill, huffing with exertion, white garments billowing in the wind. His slightly too long hair blew wildly and his dark eyes conveyed relief as they locked onto Natsu's. He bent over, resting his hand on his knees, catching his breath. Zeref._

 _Natsu offered Zeref a not at all apologetic grin, sharp canines showing and all, and ran towards his brother. "Zeref!"_

 _Zeref, looking up too late, never saw the ambush coming. "N-Natsu!" was all he got out before the pair went tumbling down the hill. The moment he felt the air whip around him as he flew backward, ground disappearing from beneath his feet, he instinctively pulled Natsu closer, trying to shield his little brother from injuries. They tumbled down the gentle sloping hill, falling literally head over heels, until both their small, slight forms rolled to a stop at the foot of the hill._

 _Zeref lay there for a few seconds, eyes closed, trying to calm his erratic heartbeat. His arms were still wrapped tightly around his younger brother. When he sat up, he didn't release his hold, and Natsu's face was squished against his shoulders._

" _Zeref –" Zeref obeyed his unspoken request and allowed Natsu to sit up as well._

 _Zeref suddenly grabbed Natsu's shoulders and gently shook, bringing his brother's gaze back to his face. Natsu, whose eyes were glittering with innocent mirth, immediately adopted a solemn expression when he saw the firm, set line of his brother's mouth. His large green eyes widened further in inquiry as Zeref levelled a serious look at him, his dark eyes stared unwavering._

" _Natsu," Zeref said. Natsu stared back in confusion. "Don't ever scare me like that again, okay? You almost got hurt!"_

 _Natsu nodded vigorously in understanding, his pink hair bouncing. He leaned forward and hugged Zeref in comfort. "I promise, Zeref. I'm sorry."_

 _Zeref reached an arm around to pat Natsu on the back. They sat there for a moment, arms around each other, hair blowing in the gentle wind._

 _Natsu wriggled out of Zeref's hold and stood up. He wordlessly offered his tiny hand to his older brother, a large smile gracing his innocent face. Zeref smiled back and stood, his larger hands grabbing that of his little brother's. Natsu pulled him along, half running and half walking, all the way to where they lived. His smile never left his face, and every time he looked back at his older brother following after him with that gentle, loving expression, his smile became that much more brilliant._

* * *

 _They were late for dinner. Mama hadn't been too happy. Her green eyes were narrowed as she stood, with her hands on her slim hips, staring down at the pair disapprovingly. Their Papa stood behind her, shrugging his shoulders when he met Natsu's slightly pitiful look. Natsu turned his pleading eyes – guaranteed 100% success (mostly) – on Mama._

 _He stared. Mama stared back. Just when Natsu was about to give up, she sighed, her eyes softening with reluctant resignation – not quite acceptance, but better than being grounded to the house for the next two days. She waggled a finger at the pair, and said, "I'll let it go today, Natsu. Don't forget next time." Paired with a severely stern look, her warning proved to be quite effective. Natsu fiercely nodded his head up and down, taking every opportunity to appease his irritated mother._

" _Yes Mama, I won't ever do that again! I promise!"_

 _Zeref followed up with a simple nod of understanding and a "Yes, mother."_

 _Sylvia nodded. "Alright, you two. Dinner's on the table. But, "she said as Natsu made to run off, "wait for your father and me before you start eating."_

 _Natsu bobbed his head before dashing to the dining table. Zeref followed his little brother at a slower pace. Sylvia smiled after them, and nodded to her husband._

 _Natsu, who was already a bit impatient at having to wait even a minute to eat the delicious food Mama had made – and Mama was a_ _ **fabulous**_ _cook – poked his head around the corner the dining room._

 _Papa and Mama were walking side by side, both wearing expressions of contentment. Their clasped hands swung between them as they walked. Natsu grinned, and decided that he could wait another twenty seconds._

 _But twenty seconds were too much to ask for, it seemed. Mama and Papa didn't even reached the dining room before an explosion tore the house apart. A shockwave travelled from their front doors to the back of the house. It was silent. All Natsu remembered was seeing was debris flying from behind his parents before they turned, their eyes wide. Then they were blown backwards, their bodies flying through the air and landing in a heap before the dinner table. Natsu could tell they were dead before they hit the ground._

 _Zeref had tackled him to the ground as soon as he heard a low whistle – the first sign of danger. As a result, the two of them had escaped the explosion, for the most part. Natsu lay on the ground face down, not quite registering what was happening. He watched as his parents lay there, not twitching single finger. He could feel Zeref's hot breaths on his neck, but he couldn't hear. Everything sounded as if submerged underwater._

 _He remembered lying there, staring at the deep wounds that ran across his parents' bodies, the pieces of sharp metal that pierced them and the blood. Oh, the blood. It poured from their eyes, their chests, their legs, their everywhere in rivers of bright red blood. It pooled underneath them and crept outwards, towards Natsu._

 _He scrambled backwards, and at that moment, everything came into focus. His vision sharpened further, and his hearing became clear. All of a sudden, he could hear his brother's laboured breaths, the screams and shouts from the street, and the strangely melodic tinkling of falling rubble. A terrible fog of smoke washed over where their front door used to be. He could smell the sharp, metallic tang of blood._

" _N-Natsu," Zeref breathed. "You're not injured, are you?"_

 _Natsu looked to his left to see Zeref laying on his side, with a large cut running down his arm and a piece of metal protruding from his thigh. His previously white garments were stained red with blood and streaked with dust. He had a relieved, pained smile on his face._

" _Zeref!" His voice trembled ever so slightly. "My arm hurts and my eyes sting, but you –"_

" _N-N-Natsu, listen to me. You have to go get help, okay? G-go out and ask the neighbours, ask Miss Mirabel or Mister Kaine or even your friends for help. Okay?"_

 _Natsu shook his head fiercely as tears gathered in his eyes. "N-no! I don't wanna leave you here!"_

" _Natsu, p-please, j-just go, I promise I'll be –"_

" _Go where, little Natsu?" A voice sounded from behind Natsu, coming from the front of their destroyed house. It was amused, dark and smooth._

 _A tall man appeared, his shadow falling over the two brothers. Zeref jerked back when he saw the man come into view despite the burning pain spreading through his veins. There was blood smeared across the man's torso and it streaked down his face. His eyes looked menacing, glowing as they were with an eerie, unnatural cyanine blue light._

 _Natsu's small voice broke the moment of silence. "Uncle Kaos?"_

 _He smiled. It was all teeth and in no way did it lighten the frightening intensity of his eyes. "Hello, Natsu, Zeref. I see that you're no doing well. And your parents…" He looked over to where the two lay, in a heap amidst a pool of blood. "I see that they are dead. Ah, well."_

 _Zeref tried to push himself up and shield Natsu. This man looked like their uncle, but there was something off. Something wasn't right, and he had a feeling that something very bad would happen soon. His arms gave out, however, and he crashed back to the debris littered ground with a pained hiss. "Natsu, p-p-please go –"_

 _Their uncle chuckled, dark amusement colouring his tone. "Nuh uh, Natsu. You're not going anywhere. I've just come to say goodbye. Be good boys and stay still, will you?"_

 _Natsu looked at his uncle with fear and confusion in his eyes. What was going on? Why couldn't he leave to find help? Why did Uncle Kaos look so horrible? Why was he here anyways? And couldn't he help Zeref? His sharp intuition told him that there was something very wrong. A vile aura floated around him, and he looked… scary. Not at all like the times he showed Natsu his dragon teacher or when they made clay dragons or when he taught him and big brother how to swim._

 _He didn't know this man._

 _Magic, in the form of a writhing ball of cold blue light, gathered in Kaos's hands. His eyes, impossibly, glowed even brighter in the dim natural lighting of a setting sun. His strong arms, which were covered in dust and blood, glowed as well, swirling blue patterns that matched the shade of his eyes painting their way down and across his arms. They glowed even from under the grit. Steaks of blue appeared on his face, augmenting his eyes. When he grinned, it was a hard, terrifying grin, his sharp canines making it more so. His eyes were not kind. His entire expression, his demeanour, his aura, had an underlying tone of menace and maniacal satisfaction._

 _Was this really the man who had taken care of him when he was sick, who played with Natsu whenever he came over to their house? Was this really his and Zeref's Uncle Kaos? The man standing, looking down at him and his brother with a sadistic grin; was this really their uncle?_

 _His grin morphed into a scowl, then a sneer. "See you in never, brats. And my name is no longer Kaos. I am Acnologia." He threw his arms out, the blue swirls on his arms becoming more pronounced._

 _Zeref looked on in terror as his younger stared at their supposed uncle in shock. That stance the man had taken, the position… No! It would kill them, and decimate what was left of the neighbourhood! Zeref dragged himself up and pulled Natsu down. He had to do something –_

" _Wing slash of the chaos dragon!"_

 _Natsu whimpered as a wave of magically charged air washed over him. He watched as Zeref threw a hand forward as if trying to block the magic attack. He didn't miss the way his brother winced and the shriek he let out as he thrust his arms forward, the sound muffled by the cacophonic roar of chaos magic._

 _In the blink of an eye, everything went dead silent. The last thing he heard was Uncle Kaos's – no, Acnologia's deranged laughter entwined with Zeref's pained huffs of exertion. Natsu lay on his back, his head turned to the side. He watched with blank eyes as Acnologia's tall form sauntered away. He didn't try to call after him. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't, because the only thoughts he registered was pain. Sharp, searing pain. It came from his legs. Or was it his stomach. Head, maybe? He couldn't tell anymore. He just hurt all over, even this throat. Was he screaming? Maybe. He didn't know._

 _He could see Zeref's slumped form in front of him, and for a moment, panicked when he thought his older brother was dead. Zeref turned back though, and even though he looked haunted and exhausted enough to sleep for an entire year, it was enough to assuage Natsu's worry. Then Zeref's dark eyes widened, and he wondered what it was now._

 _A trembling hand reached down. He though he was going to be pet on the head again, and tried to bring up a tired arm to knock his brother's hand away, but Zeref pulled back too soon. Bright blood coated his fingers and ran down his hand and arm, leaving a fine trail of red._

 _Zeref pushed down a wave of fury and helplessness, shoved aside his weariness, the frustration clouding his thoughts and blinked away the tears that pricked at his eyes. Despite the wound on his arm and the persistent throbs of pain that originated there, he managed to untie the sash he wore around his waist. He quickly shook it free of dust and debris as best as he could and tried to ignore the pain. His wellbeing didn't matter. Not with his little brother like this; not when Natsu was bleeding to death in front of his eyes. He couldn't lose his precious brother as well._

 _Gently cupping Natsu's head, he lifted it and slipped the dirtied white sash around his slim neck and tied it as best he could to stop the bleeding. Natsu was gasping in pain and thrashed in his arms, but Zeref could do nothing further than pet his hair in comfort and try not to black out._

" _Z-Z-Zeref? … It hurts," Natsu said, his voice quiet and raw. "A-and I c-c-can't hear any-anything. I hurt all o-over."_

" _Shh, Natsu, you'll be alright…"_

 _He had thrown up a protective barrier just as Acnologia released his magic. However, despite being a genius, as a child still learning magic, Zeref's spell wasn't nearly strong enough to completely counteract dragon slayer magic. The deep gash that cut across Natsu's neck was a testament to that. That he even managed to throw up a protective spell as complex as the one he used fast enough was astounding in itself. But Zeref's natural aptitude had not been enough to make up for his youth and inexperience, and it cost Natsu blood and pain._

" _P-please stay… Zeref," Natsu managed to get out before he fell prey to the black dots spreading across his vision._

" _I… I will. I won't let anything happen to you." Zeref, having lost a significant amount of blood himself, swayed. Before long, he too fainted from pain and blood loss. He hoped that even if he were to die, Natsu would be alright. He hoped his little brother would survive. He didn't know what he would do his younger brother didn't make it._

 _It would soon be proven to Zeref that the world was indeed a cruel, cruel place. It had stolen their parents. And then, days and days later, Natsu, the only thing he had to live for, was gone as well._

* * *

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy it! I'll try to get part two up ASAP but I still have to write it, so... it may take a while. Until then!


End file.
